Magnetic entropy and adiabatic temperature changes in and above the room-temperature region have been measured for La0.7Sr0.3Mn1−xMx′O3 (M′=Al,Ti) by means of magnetization and heat capacity measurements in magnetic fields up to 6 T. The magnetocaloric effect becomes largest at the ferromagnetic ordering temperature Tc that is tuned (from 364.5 K for x=0) to ∼300 K by the substitution of Al or Ti for Mn. While the substitution of Al for Mn drastically reduces the maximum magnetic entropy (−ΔSm) and adiabatic temperature (ΔTa) changes, it extends considerably the working temperature span and therefore improves the relative cooling power (RCP). Under a magnetic field change ΔH=2 T, −ΔSm (or ΔTa) of La0.7Sr0.3Mn1−xAlxO3 decreases from 2.66 J/kg K (or 1.65 K) for x=0 to 1.18 J/kg K (or 0.69 K) for x=0.1, while RCP increases from 80.3 to 108.8 J/kg, respectively. While Tc is largely suppressed, the magnetocaloric effect is only lightly affected by the Ti substitution. With ΔH=2 T, the La0.7Sr0.3Mn0.95Ti0.05O3 sample exhibits −ΔSm (or ΔTa) =2.44 J/kg K (or 1.38 K) with RCP=89.9 J/kg. The decrease of magnetic moment is found to be one possible reason behind the suppression of the MCE. The magnetocaloric effect in manganite materials seems to be inhibited by the existence of short-range ferromagnetic correlations above Tc.

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The impact of in-plane alternating currents on the exchange bias, resistance, and magnetoresistance of a Co 85 Fe 15 / Ni 0.85 Co 0.15 O / Co 85 Fe 15 / Cu/ Co 85 Fe 15 spin valve is studied. With increasing current, the resistance is increased while the maximum magnetoresistance ratio decreases. Noticeably, the reversal field of the pinned layer is systematically suppressed in both field sweeping directions. Since Ni 0.85 Co 0.15 O is a good insulator, it is expected that the ac flows only in the Co 85 Fe 15 / Cu/ Co 85 Fe 15 top layers, thus ruling out any presence of spin-transfer torque acting on the spins in the antiferromagnetic layer. Instead, our measurements show clear evidence of the influence of Joule heating caused by the current. Moreover, results from temperature-dependent measurements very much resemble those of the current dependence, which indicates that the effect of Joule heating plays a major role in the current-in-plane spin-valve configurations. The results also suggest that spin-transfer torques between ferromagnetic layers might still exist and compete with the exchange bias at sufficiently high currents.

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